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Funding
The Regulatory Authority for Broadcasting and Telecommunications (RTR) is funded from various sources depending on its areas of activity. On the one hand, market participants are required by law to provide partial financing for the authority, and on the other hand the authority is supported with funds from the Austrian federal government.
The Supervisory Authority for Collecting Societies is funded by means of financing contributions from companies, while the grant funds (Digitization Fund, Austrian Television Fund, Private Broadcasting Fund and Non-Commercial Broadcasting Fund) and the Supervisory Body for Electronic Signatures receive federal funding. The Postal Regulation is endowed with funds from the federal budget in 2008.
Regulatory activities are financed by the markets as well as federal funding. In order to finance its regulatory activities, the Media Division receives federal funds in the amount of EUR 750,000 per year, while parties subject to the financing contribution requirement contribute a maximum of EUR 2.25 million. The Telecommunications Division receives EUR 2 million in federal funds per year, and parties subject to the financing contribution requirement provide additional financing of up to EUR 6 million to cover that division's expenses.
From 2007 onward, federal funding will be adjusted annually to reflect the development of the consumer price index.
Financing contributions are calculated on the basis of each company's projected revenues in relation to the overall revenues of the industry. Once the companies' actual revenues are determined, the actual financing contributions are calculated and reconciled against the contributions paid on the basis of projected revenues. In order to simplify administration, companies whose revenues are below a certain threshold are exempted from the financing contribution requirement.
For more detailed information on financing contributions, please follow the links below.